Forthe record, notification of the meeting was made to the media as required by theFreedom of Information Act.

The meeting was called to order at 10:40 a.m. by ChairmanGilbert, who then asked Mr. Walter Jackson to proceed with the introductions.

1.Introductions

Guests were introduced and welcomedto the Commission meeting.

2.Approval of Minutes

A motion was made (Olsen), seconded(Chinnes) and carried to approve theminutes as submitted.

3.Committee Reports

3.01Report of the ExecutiveCommitteeChairman Austin Gilbert

(NoReport)

3.02Report of theCommittee on Academic Affairs

and Licensing Ms. Dianne Chinnes

(No Report)

3.03Report of the Committee on Access, Equity&Student Services-Ms.Susan Cole

(NoReport)

A.ResidencyRegulations

Ms. Cole:The revisions to the Residency Regulations were presented duringa statewide meeting of residency officers in January.These revisions were minor clarifications to the currentlyapproved regulations and were reviewed by residency officers representing thetwo- and four-year public colleges.TheCommittee seeks approval of the Commission on these items; however, in ameeting of the Committee this morning, several modifications were recommended.Dr. Woodfaulk was asked to explain the proposed change to the regulation—page 5,D—ATT I.

There was discussion by Ms. Chinnesand Dr. Woodfaulk concerning Item 62.609. Exclusions, A,2, dealing witheligibility and/or exclusion of spouses of full-time faculty and administrativeemployees to qualify to pay in-state fees without having to establish apermanent home in the state for twelve months.It was pointed out that the revisions made in the residency regulationswas only clarifying what is stated in South Carolina law.

Gen. Olsen also requestedclarification on 62.609.A,4, concerning “Retired Persons” and theirdependents.There being no otherdiscussion, the modifications were approved.

B.Scholarship/GrantAudit Appeals

This item is for information:The Committee granted a waiver of refundsrequested from Florence-Darlington Technical College and Piedmont TechnicalCollege for academic year 1998-99 only.(ATT II).

C.PublicHearing for the Changes to the Regulations Governing the Teacher LoanProgram

Ms. Cole opened the meeting forpublic comment regarding Changes to the Regulations Governing the TeacherLoan Program.There were nocomments or questions, and, being none, the public hearing was closed.

D.PublicHearing for the LIFE & Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Appeals Regulations.

Ms. Cole opened the meeting forpublic comment regarding the LIFE and Palmetto Scholarship AppealsRegulations.Ms. Chinnes commented:1)applaud the creation of the studentadvisory task force; 2) once again recommend that business representation beadded to the appeals committee as this recommendation was made last year; shequestioned was there business representation on the advisory committee; 3) dowe use certified mail to notify applicants (the Commission uses certified mailto notify).

A motion (Chinnes) wasmade, seconded (Harvin) and carried to add the language toappoint one representative from the business community to the AppealsCommittee.One opposition(Jackson) is recorded.

Ms. Harvin question:In a situation where there is a program thatis terminal at five years, is there language to prevent the LIFE scholarshipfrom terminating at four years?Dr.Barton answered that question by explaining that there is a proviso whichincludes certain 5-year programs.Dr.Woodfaulk reinforced this by saying that students who are enrolled in five-yearprograms are allowed to continue with the LIFE scholarship.They have to be agreed upon with theAcademic Affairs area of the Commission on Higher Education.Thus far, the Commission polls theinstitutions to find out if there are any unusual programs or programs thatwould be five years in length and that is considered for students who would beon the LIFE scholarship program.In theappeals committee, the whole range of extenuating circumstances is considered.

With no other comments orquestions, the public hearing was closed

3.04Committee onFinance and Facilities-Ms. Rosemary Byerly

(No Report)

3.05Report of Committee onPlanning, Assessment

and Performance Funding- Mr. Dalton Floyd

A.Report Cardsformat for 1999-2000 Ratings

B.Development of Standards for 2000-2001

Mr. Floyd briefly reviewed the Report Card format, explaining the processused in ratings and the format for displaying information.Mr. Floyd invited Commission members toattend the Planning and Assessment Committee meeting at 10:30 on April 25, atwhich time the Committee will consider ratings for 1999-2000.The Committee will begin considering thestandards for next year at its meeting on June 1, following the Commissionmeeting that morning.

¨LegislativeUpdate:There is nothing substantial toreport since the last Friday Notes.The Senate Sub Committee continues to hold hearings, but neither thefull Senate nor the full Finance Committee have done anything on the highereducation budget.

¨MRR ValidationStudy:the report on the MRR ValidationStudy will be presented at the May meeting.The report that the Commission receives will be a draft report and,after all comments and presentations, a final report will be issued.

¨HigherEducation Finance Study:Joe Marks fromSREB will be present at the May meeting to assist staff in presenting the Study.

¨Life and safetyissues in residential halls:DougMcTeer in the Governor’s office forwarded a constituent letter to CHE suggestingwe create an advisory group on dorm safety.This is a reminder that the Commission requires that the institutionsreport annually on the life safety in dorms and that type of issues.There is already an advisory group in thatarea.

¨State ReportCard:The National Center for PublicPolicy in Higher Education in Washington, DC has, for the past year and a half,been developing an accountability reporting system state by state that is notunlike what we do in performance funding.South Carolina has been working on this for several years.Dr. Smith and the staff have been asked todevelop a matrix and array the indicators that we already have in place.

¨For the lastcouple of years, there has been an effort to develop an Executive-MPA degree inSouth Carolina.There have beendiscussions with legislators in an effort to get this program funded.

Chairman Gilbert introduced Dr. Luther F. Carter who, in turn, commentedon the need for the E-MPA Program and the fact that it deserves support.Dr. Carter encouraged the Commission to takethe time to visit with the students and talk to faculty while they were on FrancisMarion University campus.

There was a presentation by Dr.Luther F. Carter on the progress of Francis Marion and constructionunderway on campus

Dr. Carter, on behalf of thefaculty, staff and trustees of Francis Marion University, presented a mementoto Chairman Gilbert, recognizing him for his service to the Commission, FrancisMarion University, and the community.

6.OtherBusiness

There being no further business,the meeting was adjourned at 11:35 a.m.